Coffee percolator



L. P. MANSHIP ETAL COFFEE PERCOLATOR Nov. 1, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 31, 1964 FIG. I

INVENTORSZ CHARLES R. TURNER LUTHER F. MANSHIP STEPHEN W. ZAMISKA 95am W ATTYS.

Nov. 1, 1966 L. P. MANSHIP ETAL 3,282,196

COFFEE PERCOLATOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 31, 1964 if 7 FIG. l3.

INVENTORSI CHARLES R. TURNER LUTHER P. MANSHIP STEPHEN W.ZAM|SKA W ATTYS.

Nov. 1, 1966 1.. P. MANSHIP ETAL 3,282,196

COFFEE PERCOLATOR Filed July 51, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 mvem'ons: CHARLES R TURNER LUTHER P. MANSHIP STEPHEN W. ZAM ISKA ATTY5- United States Patent 3,282,196 CUFFEE IERQULATGR Luther P. Manship, Collingdale, and Charles R. Turner and Stephen W. Zarniska, Phiiadelphia, Pa., assignors to The Proctor-Site): Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa, a corporation of Connecticut Filed July 31, I964, Ser. No. 386,527 15 Claims. (Cl. 99-310) This invention relates to coffee brewing apparatus, and more particularly to improvements in the construction of electric coffee percolators.

It has long been recognized that the brewing of coffee in a metallic vessel may result in the development of a certain measure of rancidity due to a tendency for natural organic acids to react with the metal. To guard against off-flavors, and also for aesthetic reasons, the use of a glass container has become increasingly popular, particularly for coffee makers of the drip or vacuum type. An attempt to use glass in the construction of electric percolators has encountered special problems, one of which is the need for a leak-proof seal between the glass container and the metallic member supplying heat for the percolating operation. The prior art includes a number of proposed arrangements using glass or ceramic containers. In general, these prior art arrangements comprise an externally threaded extension of the walls defining a heat pump well, which extension projects upward into the interior of the container. A nut is arranged to be screwed downward on the threaded extension to bind the bottom of the container against a horizontal face, with one or more gaskets positioned therebetween. When assembled in this manner, the container and the base are inseparable in normal use, requiring the handling of the whole percolator as cleaning is required. If, in such handling, the container should be broken, replacement is not easy since it requires special facilities for loosening the nut and for properly reassembling the percolator with new parts. It is an object of this invention to provide a percolator having a container that maybe removed easily for cleaning and that may be quickly installed in sealed relationship with the heat pump.

Another problem with percolators of this type is in the arrangement of the thermostatic switch control. In some cases the thermomotive member has been placed in contact with the bottom of the glass container. When this is done, the response to temperature changes in the body of the liquid is slow, because of the thermal insulating qualities of the glass, and, should there be no liquid present, the temperature of the heat pump may increase to a value that can cause damage to the gasket between the heating means and the container. In other cases, the thermomotive member is responsive only to the temperature of the heat pump. This arrangement will prevent overheating but it cannot sense the temperature of the liquid in the container and is therefore unsatisfactory. It is another object of the invention to provide an arrangement whereby a single thermostatic switch is quickly responsive to the temperature of the liquid in the container and also serves to disconnect the heating elements if the temperature of the heating means rises to an undesirable level.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a percolator wherein the coffee grounds basket, the fountain tube, and a removable lid can be handled as an interconnected unit.

These and other features of novelty will be apparent from the following description with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the coffee percolator embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 1a is an exploded perspective view similar to FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 1b is a perspective view of a portion of the apparatus of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along line 22 of FIGURE 1 with the electrical parts in the base omitted;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective View of the clasp member of the apparatus of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is an exploded perspective view of latch structure used to maintain the coffee percolator assembled;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view of the clasp member and related structure for holding the tube of the coffee basket with the coffee basket secured to the fountain tube;

FIGURE 8 is an elevational view similar to FIGURE 7 with the legs of the clasp member actuated away from engagement with the tube of coffee basket;

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view taken along line 99 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 10- 16 of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary sectional View taken along line ilfli of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 12 is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating the circuit employed in the present invention; and

FIGURE 13 is a sectional view taken along line 13-13 of FIGURE 2.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 1a, the percolator comprises a generally cylindrical, hollow cup-shaped base generally designated It preferably moulded with integral feet lltla of phenolic resin, and having a separate handle 11 of similar material rigidly secured to the base and extending upwardly from one side thereof. Container 14, preferably constructed of heat-resistant glass, is nested within the lip of base Ill and is clamped on the base by latch means, generally designated 15, in the upper portion of handle 11. The glass container 14- is provided with an inverted cup-shaped sheet metal lid 16 surmounted by a knob 17, preferably of a moulded resinous material. The lid 16, which nests within the divergently upwardly flared collar of the glass container, encloses the lip and top portion of a coffee basket 18 located in the conventionally cupshaped glass container. Fountain tube 20 extends downwardly from the coffee basket 18 to the base 10.-

As can be seen in FIGURE 2, a cup-shaped heat-pump well 22 is centrally positioned in the base. The upper lip of the well provides a collar 24 which extends upwardly into container 14 through aperture 26 centrally located in the bottom of the glass container. The bottom of well 22 has a downwardly extending stud 28 which enables it to be secured to the bottom of base 10 by screw 30. Stud 28 has an internally threaded bore to accommodate screw 30, which passes upwardly through counterbore 31 in the bottom of the base Ill. Two resistance heaters 32 and 33 are incorporated respectively in and around the side walls of well 22 and are electrically insulated therefrom but in heat-transfer relationship with well 22. Primary heater 32 is adapted to perform the percolating operation, and secondary heater 33 is provided to maintain the brewed coffee at a predetermined temperature after percolation is completed. A rubber ring 34 of irregular cross section fits over a thin annular extension 35 atop the lip of base 10. A portion 37 of rubber ring 34 extends downwardly into the base along its sidewalls. The lower end of portion 37 is shaped to form a horizontally disposed annular slot 39 into which the outer edge of a translucent flexible disc 40 is snapped. Disc 40 has a central circular opening 41 which is positioned to permit disc 40 to slip over the upper end of collar 24 around well 22. The edge of disc 40 bounding the well 22 seats on annular flange 42 of well 22 and the outer periphery of disc 40 is pressed downwardly over rubber ring 34 and into slot 39 where it is held in a leak-tight relationship.

An annular rubber sealing member 53 fits snugly over collar 24 and against flange 42. Sealing member 53 also provides a flap 53a which overrides and seats on the upper face of disc 40. The outside of sealing member 53 together with flap 53a is of generally conical form. Preferably, sealing member 53 includes behind flap 53a an annular recess 55 to provide maximum resilience.

Glass container 14 has an outward step near its bottom which permits its seating in base and the container tapers to a smaller diameter neck 14a near its open top. Above the neck 14a the container flares outwardly in a collar 56 that broadens from a narrow width at the point of engagement of latch to a pouring lip 57. The outward step in the bottom of glass container 14 is adapted to fit snugly over ring 34. Because of the relative shaping and proportions of the parts, the outside of the percolator from the glass container 14 through sealing ring 34 and base 10 presents a substantially smooth surface.

In assembling the percolator, the stepped bottom section of glass container 14 is pushed downwardly within ring 34 so that the inner edge of aperture 26 in the bottom of container 14 engages the tapered outer diameter of sealing member 53. A liquid tight seal is formed between these parts by downward pressure on container 14, created by latch means 15, which will now be described in detail.

Handle 11 provides a generally vertically extending hand grip portion 62 terminating in a generally horizontal extension 63 which extends inwardly toward container 14. Extension 63 is longitudinally grooved to provide a recess 64 in the top thereof arranged to receive latch means 15. As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 6, latch means 15 is assembled in a generally channel-shaped bracket 74, which includes a pair of spaced tongues 75 extending lengthwise from one end of the bracket. A leaf spring 76 is provided having grooves near one end thereof forming a T- shaped end portion 77 adapted to fit between tongues 75 to serve as a hinge. The body of the leaf spring is curved upwardly when its free end lies against the bottom of bracket 74. Mounted above leaf spring 76 is a resilient latch arm 79, one end of which is provided with a T- shaped portion, similar to the T-shaped portion of leaf spring 76, to serve as a hinge when fitted between tongues 75. The free end of latch arm 79 is in the form of a hook arranged to fit over the collar 56 of container 14. The latch arm has a central longitudinal narrow opening 80 to reduce its cross-section for added resilience.

Positioned above latch arm 79 is a generally L-shaped lever 81 mounted in bracket 74 by means of a pivot pin 82 which extends between vertically upstanding ear extensions formed above each side of the bracket. The short lever arm 34 of the L--shaped lever has indented sides to fit between the vertically extending ear extensions of bracket 74, and serves as a cam to engage the upper face of latch arm 79 and to thereby force downwardly atop the top edge of collar 56 the hook portion of latch arm 79 into resiliently firm engagement with the collar of container 14. This is done against the upward bias provided by the curved portion of leaf spring 46. The latch is operated by manually rotating long lever arm 85 of the L-shaped lever 81 about its pivot 82. When the free end of lever arm 85 is pushed downwardly leaf spring 76 is compressed and resilient latch arm 79 is bent downwardly at a point intermediate its pivotal connection and its free end. At the limit of its travel, short lever arm 84 passes overcenter so that the latch arm is maintained in its locking position. When the free end of lever arm 85 is lifted, the pressure on the latch arm is released and leaf spring 76 lifts the portion of hook latch arm 79 away from engagement with the collar of container 14.

Since all of the operating parts of the latching means are attached to bracket 74, they form a self-contained assembly which may be mounted into the recess in the handle as a unit. As can be seen in FIGURE 2, grooved recess 64 is of a size to receive the latch means and has a narrow longitudinally extending opening 86 in line with the bottom of the recess to receive the tongues of the bracket and a blind hole 87 in its bottom in extension 63 at to the plane of the bracket adapted to receive an integral downwardly turned lip 88 of the bracket. As shown in FIGURE 13, outwardly projecting portions 89 and 90 of the sides of the bracket 74 resiliently snap into grooves 91 and 92, respectively, opening out from the channel side walls as the channel bracket 74 is slid into grooved recess 64. The bracket and its associated parts are thereby held against displacement in any direction.

In assembling the percolator for use, latch lever arm 85 is pivoted upwardly, thereby releasing pressure on latch arm 79. Glass container 14 is then installed by fitting its bottom into the sealing ring 34 at the base 10 so that its collar underlies the hook portion of latch arm 79. The free end of lever arm 85 is next pressed downwardly to the extent of its travel, whereby latch arm 79, presses the container downward into sealed relationship with ring 34 and sealing member 53. This must be done before the internal parts of the percolator are placed in container 14, for reasons that will be explained hereinafter.

The fountain tube 20 is provided with a cupped disc 93 with upturned lip secured to annular shoulder 20a near the lower end of the fountain tube, the disc 93 being of such diameter that it will pass through the upper end of collar 24 into well 22 and seat against a beveled surface 94, as shown in FIGURE 2. Apertures 95 are arranged through disc 93 to permit liquid from upper chamber 96 to enter the lower chamber 96a of member 22. A small diameter circular valve disc 97 with downturned edges is loosely mounted beneath disc 93 adapted to slide along tube 20 between disc 93 and annular shoulder 20!; to close the apertures 95 when pressure is developed within well 22.

A coffee basket 18, having a perforate bottom 98, is provided with a centrally located upstanding tube 99 adapted snugly to accommodate the upper end of fountain tube 20. The top portion 100 of tube 99 is swedged inwardly to act as a stop to position the upper end of a coil spring 101, which must be inserted upwardly from the bottom into tube 99. Spring 101 includes at least one coil of greater diameter in relaxed condition than the inside diameter of tube 99, serving to grip the inside walls of the tube to hold the spring tightly in place. The lower end of spring 101 is provided with a downwardly extending elongated hair pin loop 102, adapted to enter the upper end of fountain tube 20 and by its resilience bear against its inside walls to support the weight of tube 20 through frictional engagement therewith and thereby to hold the fountain tube 20 in the proper position against beveled surface 94.

Glass container 14 is provided with removable sheet metal lid 16 in the form of an inverted cup. The knob 17 is secured to lid 16 by means of a tubular rivet 104 which extends through an axially disposed bore in the knob. The upper flange of rivet 104 seats against the bottom of a concentric bore 105 in the top of the knob 17, and the lower flange of rivet 104 seats against a bifurcated resilient clasp member 106 located as shown in FIG- URE 2 against the under face of the lid riveting together the knob 17, the lid 16 and clasp 106. The tubular rivet passes through opening 106a in the base 107 of the clasp member 106 shown in detail in FIGURE 5.

Each finger 108 of clasp member 106 taken with base 107 forms a generally elongated S-shape, one being opposed to the other in a symmetrical arrangement. The distance between the free ends of the fingers 1118 of the clasp member is greater than the diameter of the tube 99 of the coffee basket, which tube includes a radially outwardly extending ring flange 109 formed adjacent its tapered upper end. The closest spacing between the S- shaped fingers 103 of the clasp member is less than the diameter of ring portion 1411, but from this point the fingers diverge toward their free ends. After coffee basket 18 has been filled with ground coffee, lid 16 is pressed downward over the top of the basket. As the divergent portions of fingers 108 of .clasp member 1116 contact the tapered end of tube 59, their resilience permits them to be forced apart until the ring flange 109 lies within or above (toward its base 107) the level of minimum distance between the fingers. The ring 199 is thus resiliently gripped by the clasp member. Preferably portions of flange 109 enter slots 1111 in fingers 1118 to clamp securely, mechanically as well as frictionally, tube 99 to the clasp member, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 7.

The fountain tube 20 is then telescoped into tube 99 by pushing it upward until hair pin loop 102 of spring 1111 enters the Open end and retains tube 20. These interconnected parts, lid 16, basket 18 and tube 20, as shown in FIGURE 1b, may be lifted by means of knob 17 and positioned in container 14 to seat disc 93 in the heat pump well 22. Spring 1111 yields to pushing the lid downwardly against its bias until the inwardly beveled lip 111 of the lid seats against the matching bevel of the collar 56 of container 14. When the lid is seated, a pair of spacers 112 in the form of protrusions embossed in lip 111 of lid 1%, as seen in FIGURE 3, are in a position to fit beneath neck 14a of the container and thereby cooperate with the latch member, to be described hereinafter, to hold the lid 16 in place. The spacers also serve to permit coffee to be poured between the container and the lid with the lid in place by spacing the lid from collar 56 in the region of lip 57, as seen in FIGURE 4.

At a point generally opposite spacers 112, the side wall of lid 16 is inwardly deformed to provide a vertically extending recess 113, including an elongated aperture 114 within and at the bottom of the recess. A generally S- shaped latch member 115, which may be of moulded resinous material is mounted in recess 113 to extend through the aperture 114. One end of latch member is attached by screw or rivet 116 to the lip of the lid below the aperture 114 behind recess 113 within the lid. The mounting of latch member 115 causes the middle transverse section to extend through aperture 114 and terminate in a thumb piece extending parallel to the other end in its generally upwardly projection. The thumb piece 115a is grooved for non-slip thumb engagement and may be pressed while the hand grips handle 11. The intermediate transverse portion of latch member 115 has an upwardly opening groove 117 positioned to receive the downwardly directed tip of the hooked end of latch arm 79. Groove 117 is so located that when lid 16 is pressed downwardly, the lower portion of the latch rnember below groove 117 engages the free end of latch arm 79 which urges latch member 115 by wedge or camming action away from latch arm 49, due to the flexibility of the lower portion of the latch member and the portion of the lid supporting the latch member until the end of latch arm 79 snaps into groove 117. Groove 1117 is an exaggerated shoulder against which the end of latch arm 79 abuts as a stop so that any shoulder and stop providing a downward force component would serve the same function. The latch member cooperates with spacers 112 to hold the lid in a position where spring 101 is partially compressed so as to cause disc 93 on the lower portion of the fountain tube to seat firmly against beveled surface 94 of the heat well as well as providing resilient reaction force against the stop afforded by the end of latch arm.

After the lid is positioned, as described above, the L shaped lever 81 is inaccessible and cannot be disengaged readily since its sides are within recess 64 and its end is too close to thumb piece a of latch member 115. This guards against inadvertent release of latch means 15 while the percolator is in use.

For cleaning the glass container, the thumb piece 115a of latch member 115 is pushed away from latch arm 79 until the end of the latch arm 79 is released from and clears recess 117. The lid, coffee basket and fountain tube assembly of FIGURE lb may then be lifted out by knob 17.

Slidably mounted within bore 105 of knob 17 is a push button 126 which is integral with a rod 127 which extends through tubular rivet 104. A button 128 with a rounded lower face is attached to the lower end of rod 127. Button 123 in its upper rest position fits snugly between generally parallel portions of fingers 1118 of clasp member 106. Between the push button 126 and the bottom of bore 1115 is a spring 130 which normally biases the push button and its attached parts upwardly into the rest position shown in FIGURES 2 and 7. To separate basket 13 from lid 16, as shown in FIGURE 8, the push button is pressed against the bias of spring 130 which moves disc 128 downwardly against portions of the fingers 103 which converge to the narrowest portion of the spacing between the fingers and thereby forces apart the fingers 1118. As fingers 108 are forced apart they release their grip of flange 109 and tube 99 of the coffee basket 18, as shown in FIGURES 7 and 8.

' Once the lid has been removed from container 14, the free end of lever 31 is accessible. When the arm 85 is lifted, leaf spring '75 raises latch arm 79 away from engagement with the top rim on container 14 and the container may be lifted from base 10. Before this is done, however, the container should be emptied to avoid any substantial flow of liquid through aperture 26 in'its bottom when it is separated from sealing member 53. Any liquid that remains will be caught by disc 40, which with it's seal prevents the liquid from contacting the electrical parts in the base.

Immediately beneath flange 42 of cup-shaped well 22 a horizontally extending bracket 131 is provided, as shown in FIGURES 9 and 10, for the mounting of a thermostatic switch assembly, generally designated 142, all of the operative parts of which are held together by a bolt 143 and a nut 44, as shown in FIGURE 12. Plate 145 is secured to bracket 131 by means of screws or other suitable means. Referring to FIGURE 12, showing the details of the switch assembly, a bimetallic member 1-16 is held. in good thermal communication with plate 145 through sui able thermal conductive means by bolt 143, and switch blades and a bracket 157 are stacked beneath the bimetallic member, separated from the bimetallic member and from each other by similar annular electrical insulating means through which bolt 14-3 passes at the same time passing through holes in the switch blades large enough to avoid electrical contact. The switch blades include a first resilient, conductive switch blade 147 carrying a contact 148, a second resilient, conductive switch blade 149 carrying a double-faced contact 151) positioned to contact 145 and a third resilient, conductive switch blade 151. A short bimetallic blade 152 is secured under blade 151, and has a contact 153 mounted on top of its free end in position to contact contact 151 through aperture 154 in blade 151. The free end of blade 151 projects beyond contacts and 153 and supports an insulating post 155 which extends upward to engage bimetallic member 146. The insulating post 155 has an under-cut providing a shoulder overlying the extended free end of blade 149 which under certain conditions limits the approach of contact 159 toward contact 148. Blade 147 does not extend as far as post 155. Blade 149 is arranged to be engaged by shoulder 156 of insulating post 155 when bimetallic member 146 is bowed downward pressing the post 155, and hence blade 151, downward. Bracket 157 beneath the switch blades has a threaded aperture 158 adjacent its free end which receives adjusting screw 159. Adjusting screw 159 supports and provides axial position adjustment for an insulating rod. 160 which projects upwardly through apertures in blades 149, 151 and 152 and engages blade 147. Secured to adjusting screw 159 is an adjusting arm 161 biased downwardly by a coil spring 162, which extends between arm 161 and bracket 157. The free end of arm 161 is provided with a downwardly extending tab 163 which functions as a cam follower in cooperation with cam slot 164 in which it rides in lever arm 165, as seen in FIGURE 9. Cam-providing lever arm 165, as shown in FIGURES 9 and 10, is of irregular shape provided with bearing means to permit its rotation about the axis of the percolator in the form of a circular hole 166 near one end serving as the bearing, which is arranged to rotate around the lower reduced diameter portion of the well 22 possibly with part of the structure resting on base 10. The other end of lever arm 165 extends through a horizontally extending slot 167 in the cap sidewalls of base 10 and supports a knob 168 positioned in a recessed. portion 169 in the exterior of base 10. Manual movement of knob 169, and hence lever arm 165, along horizontal slot 167 rotates lever arm 165 about the chamber 22 on the axis of the system. Because of the engagement of tab 163 in cam slot 164, rotation of lever arm 165 causes adjusting arm 161 to rotate and thereby rotates adjusting screw 159, as shown in FIGURE 12. Since screw 159 is threaded into bracket aperture 158, such rotary movement causes rod 160 to move up or down, depending on the direction of rotation, and the engagement between the end of rod 160 and blade 147 causes contact 148 to follow this vertical movement. Blade 149 is biased in such manner that contacts 148 and 155) are normally in engagement, and adjustment of the position of blade 147 does not separate these contacts. Blade 152 is biased toward blade 149, so that contacts 150 and 153 are normally in engagement. However, when blade 147 is adjusted upward, the resultant upward movement of blade 149 tends to reduce the pressure between contacts 153 and 150, which serves as an adjusting means to regulate the temperature at which these contacts open, to be described later.

As shown in the schematic circuit diagram in FIGURE 12, one end of primary heater 32 is connected to line terminal L1 and the other end of the primary heater is connected to blade 151. Line terminal L2 is connected to blade 147, the terminals being connectable to a source of power. Since the contacts are all initially biased into engagement with each other, the primary heater is energized when the percolator is plugged in, the circuit extending from line terminal L1 through heater 32, contacts 153, 150 and 148 to line terminal L2. Secondary heater 33 is, at first, in a shunt circuit, and carries a negligible amount of current because of its relative high resistance compared with primary heater 3-2.

As previously described, fountain tube disc 93 is seated against beveled surface 94 in well 22, which divides the well into a lower chamber 96a and an upper chamber 96. Heat from primary heater 32 tends to vaporize liquid in chamber 96a and thereby cause percolation. However, the liquid in upper chamber 96 is substantially at the temperature of the balance of the liquid in container 14 since it is in unrestricted conductive communication therewith. Since the thermostatic switch is attached to well 22 at a point adjacent chamber 96, bimetallic member 146 is in a position to sense the temperature in chamber 96, which is representative of the body of liquid in container 14. As this temperature rises, the free end of bimetallic member 146 moves downwardly and presses on post 155 which moves blade 151 downwardly until contact 153 separates from contact 150. The temperature at which this occurs is determined by the setting of the adjusting means previously described. The opening of contacts and 153 stops the percolation process and causes secondary heater 33 to be fully energized to keep the brew warm, the circuit extending from line terminal L1 through heater 32, heater 33, and con tacts 150, 148 to line terminal L2.

Bimetallic blade 152, which supports contact 153, is heated by the passage of current therethrough, when contacts 150 and 153 are in engagement. Bimetallic blade 152 is oriented in such manner that, when it cools as a result of a separation of contacts 150 and 153, it will move in a direction to increase the gap between these contacts. When the percolator has been disconnected for serving coffee or for any other purpose and is again plugged in, the secondary heater will be reenergized, but the action of bimetallic blade 152 will prevent repercolation unless the time interval has been so long that the temperature of the brew has dropped approximately 30 F. This is an important feature, since recycling of al ready brewed coffee through spent grounds is undesirable.

Should there be no liquid in container 14 to absorb heat, the well 22 will rise in temperature which will directly affect bimetallic member 146 causing it to bow downwardly. This will promptly open contacts 150 and 153, and further bowing will cause shoulder 156 of insulator post to engage the free end of blade 149 to separate contacts 148 and 150. In this manner both heaters are deenergized before any damaging temperature is reached. With the arrangement described, a. single thermostatic switch is directly responsive to the temperature of the liquid in the container and additionally serves as a disconnect switch to guard against overheating.

As can be seen in the circuit in FIGURE 12 and the sectional view of the base in FIGURE 9, electric lamps and 171 are provided to illuminate the liquid in the glass container 14. As previously described, the flexible disc 40 between the base and the container is made of a translucent material adapted to diffuse the light. The lamps 170 and 171 are mounted within the base, as shown in the sectional view in FIGURE 11, by resilient contacts 172 and 173, respectively, urging the lamps against portions of the base. The resilient contacts 172 and 173 are fastened to upward projections of the base which extends through openings in the contacts with integral tabs of the contacts sheared in the contacts to provide the openings to grip the projections of the base, for example, tabs 174 grip projection 175 of the base which extends through an opening in contact 172 where tabs 174 are bent up. Lamp 170 is continuously lighted as long as the percolator is plugged in. Lamp 171 is lighted as long as contacts 148 and 150 are closed but goes out when these contacts open to disconnect the primary heater.

Although the removable container is described as being made of heat-resistant glass, the invention may be applied to a percolator having a container constructed of any desired material. The foregoing description is merely illustrative and various modifications will occur to persons skilled in the art. It is therefore intended that the appended claims shall cover such modifications as do not depart from the scope and spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. In an electric percolator, a base, a member mounted on said base having walls defining a heat-pump well, a removable imperforate container for liquid mounted on said member having an opening in the bottom thereof communicating with said well, sealing means between said container and said member, and releasable means operatively connected between said container and said base including a handle and latch means, said releasable means contacting a top portion of said container to exert downward pressure on said container to hold said container in sealing relationship with said member.

2. A percolator in accordance with claim 1, wherein said handle is connected to said base and extends upwardly, wherein said latch means is mounted on said handle.

3. A percolator in accordance with claim 2, wherein said latch means is arranged to resiliently engage a top portion of said container.

4. A percolator in accordance with claim 3, wherein the latch means comprises a resilient latch arm having one end mounted on a hinge in said handle and the other end adapted to engage a top portion of said container, spring means biasing said latch arm upwardly, and means to force said latch arm downwardly against the bias of said spring means and to hold said latch arm in its forced condition.

5. In an electric percolator, a base, a member mounted on said base having walls defining a heat-pump well with an upstanding annular collar, a handle connected to said base and extending upwardly, a removable imperforate container for liquid having means for providing an inner surface defining an opening in the bottom thereof through which said collar extends, sealing means between said collar and said container, and releasable latch means mounted on said handle, said handle and said latch means being operatively connected between said container and said base and contacting a top portion of said container to exert resilient downward pressure on said container to hold said container in sealing relationship with said member. I

6. A percolator in accordance with claim 5, wherein the sealing means comprises a resilient ring engaging the outside diameter of said collar and having a base portion supported by said member, said inner surface being adapted to fit against said resilient ring.

7. A percolator in accordance with claim 6, wherein said resilient ring includes a cavity between its bore and its outersurface to provide maximum resilience.

8. In an electric percolator, a base including an annular peripheral wall, a centrally located member in said base having walls defining a heat-pump well, a removable imperforate container for liquid mounted on said base having an opening in the bottom thereof communicating with said well, a first sealing means between said memher and said container, a second sealing means between said base wall and said container adjacent the periphery thereof, a handle connected to said base and extending upwardly, and releasable latch means mounted on said handle, said handle and said latch means being operatively connected between said container and said base and contacting a top portion of said container to exert resilient downward pressure on said container to hold said container in sealing relationship with said sealing means.

9. A percolator in accordance with claim 8, further including a disc extending between said first sealing means and said second sealing means and sealed thereby to prevent leakage of liquid into said base.

10. A percolator in accordance with claim 9, wherein said disc is constructed of a translucent material.

11. In an electric percolator, a base, a member mounted on said base including walls defining a heat-pump Well, a removable imperforate container for liquid mounted on said base having an opening in the bottom thereof communicating with said well, resilient sealing means between said container and said member, a handle connected to the base and extending upwardly and having means defining a recess in a top portion thereof, releasable latching means mounted on said handle engaging a top portion of said container arranged to exert resilient downward pressure on said container to press said container against said sealing means, a removable lid for said container, and a latch releasing member having a portion positioned in said recess in said handle and having an end portion positioned to be accessible for releasing said latching means only when said lid is removed from the container.

12. In an electric percolator, a base; a member mounted on said base having walls defining a heat-pump well; a removable container mounted on said member having an opening in the bottom thereof communicating with said well; sealing means between said container and said member; a handle connected to said base extending up wardly; and releasable latch means mounted on said handle to resiliently engage a top portion of said container to exert downward pressure on said container to hold said container in sealing relationship with said member; said latch means comprising a resilient latch arm having one end mounted as a hinge in said handle and the other end adapted to engage the top portion of said container, spring means biasing said latch arm upwardly, and a pivotally mounted generally L-shaped lever having a first arm for manual manipulation and a second arm acting as a cam engaging the upper surface of said latch arm, said lever being arranged so that said second arm travels overcenter when being moved into and out of latching position, said lever being adapted to force said latch arm downwardly against the bias of said spring means and to hold said latch arm in its forced condition.

13. A coffee percolator in accordance with claim 12, wherein the spring means comprises a leaf spring mounted beneath said latch arm.

14. A colfee percolator in accordance with claim 13, wherein the latch means further comprises a self-contained assembly including a bracket having hinge means for said latch arm and said leaf spring, and having support means for the pivotal connection of said lever.

15. In a coffee percolator, a base; a centrally located partition member mounted on said base including walls defining a heat-pump well; a removable imperforate container for liquid having an open upper end and having an annular opening in the bottom thereof in communication with said heat-pump well; sealing means between said container and said member; a handle connected to said base and extending upwardly; a lid in the form of an inverted cup mounted on said container; said container being shaped in such a manner as to have a circumferential portion of minimum diameter adjacent its top portion, at least one protrusion provided in a sidewall of said lid adapted to fit beneath said portion of said minimum diameter, a latch member connected to said lid at a point generally opposite said protrusion adapted to be held in a fixed relation to said container, the releasable latching means mounted on said upper portion of said handle including a latch arm arranged to engage an upper portion of said container and to exert resilient downward pressure on said container to press said container against said sealing means, said latch member connected to said lid being adapted to engage said latch arm for holding said latching member in fixed relation to said container.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED TATES PATENTS 475,363 5/1892 Traylor 294-29 2,044,682 6/1936 Gust 16-114 2,478,784 8/ 1949 Serio. 2,527,447 10/1950 Perl 99-312 2,551,563 5/1951 Jepson 99-292 X 2,580,824 1/1952 Oliver et al. 294-29 X 2,742,315 4/ 1956 Dreier 294-27 2,745,333 5/1956 Campbell 99-308 X 2,809,578 10/1957 Campbell 993l2 2,835,190 5/1958 Graham 99-310 2,854,279 9/1958 Derio 294-27 2,916,599 12/1959 Stiles 99-285 X (Other references on following page) UNITED 1 1 STATES PATENTS 3,187,163 Jepson 99281 X 3,202,309 Blanding et a1. 99-3 12 X Rodwick et a1. 99-3 12 X 430 11 Freedman 215-100 5 21,345 Price 99312 X Wells et a1. 219-441 Schmitt 16-114 12 6/1965 Wells et a1. 219441 8/1965 Simpson 215100 FOREIGN PATENTS 8/1911 France. 6/ 1882 Great Britain.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner. S. P. FISHER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN AN ELECTRIC PERCOLATOR, A BASE, A MEMBER MOUNTED ON SAID BASE HAVING WALLS DEFINING A HEAT-PUMP WELL, A REMOVABLE IMPERFORATE CONTAINER FOR LIQUID MOUNTED ON SAID MEMBER HAVING AN OPENING IN THE BOTTOM THEREOF COMMUNICATING WITH SAID WELL, SEALING MEANS BETWEEN SAID CONTAINER AND SAID MEMBER, AND RELEASABLE MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID CONTAINER AND SAID BASE INCLUDING A HANDLE AND LATCH MEANS, SAID RELEASABLE MEANS CONTACTING A TOP PORTION OF SAID CONTAINER TO EXERT DOWNWARD PRESSURE ON SAID CONTAINER TO HOLD SAID CONTAINER IN SEALING RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID MEMBER. 